Garrigues involves over 100 professionals in an in-house think tank to promote innovation

Published on : Wednesday, 7 February 2018

Garrigues has launched the Innovation Think Tank, an in-house ideas lab aimed at channeling, in a collective way, the innovative efforts that the firm’s professionals are already making individually, in order to boost the exchange of innovative client-oriented ideas and to encourage new ways of thinking and working.

In total, the project involves 112 professionals from the firm, all of whom signed up voluntarily upon learning of the initiative. Think tank members hail from various firm offices, both in Spain and worldwide, are of all ages and have different responsibilities, which allows new ways of working to reach all parts of the firm.

The objective is threefold: firstly, it aims to forge an environment that fosters cross-thinking that results in original and inventive ideas to help improve the client experience. Secondly, it seeks to identify the profiles that are most committed to the culture of innovation, a long-standing hallmark of Garrigues. Lastly, the think tank is driving a series of inevitable changes to the way we work which would otherwise be adopted more slowly, namely, cross-thinking, cooperation between areas, offices, countries and professionals from different categories, the detection of opportunities for stepping up innovation, among others. All of this is already being achieved within the first few months of the project.

The Think Tank’s working method is structured around different challenges, resolved by teams. The first two challenges gave rise to around 50 different initiatives related to innovation in business development and contact with clients and potential clients. The firm is already working on implementing some of these projects (13 have been selected and are in different phases of study and development), relating, among other aspects, to solutions to improve processes, mechanisms for automating routine tasks, ways to improve client service and how to build up other services. Some initiatives require technological development, while others identify ways to improve working methods, both internally and client-facing.

Fernando Vives, executive chairman of Garrigues and chair of the firm’s Innovation Committee, met with each team personally to learn about their ideas first hand, stating that “the Innovation Think Tank project is an entirely strategic project for the firm. At Garrigues, we are always working on improving and modernizing our relationships with clients and the services we provide them, and we are aware that the best ideas often arise from collaboration between professionals from different areas who do not usually have the chance to interact. All ideas have something to contribute, whether or not they are ultimately implemented. It is an enriching experience in every sense.”